North America
US futures suggest a weaker close at the open on Thursday as the absence of news on a US-China trade deal hampers the next move higher for global stocks.
In stocks, retail giant Costco (COST) reports today, as does oil and natural gas producer Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) in Toronto.
Friday’s US non-farm payrolls are the highlight of the economics calendar this week. The US economy is expected to have added 185,000 jobs in February, lower than the 304,000 posts added in January. Canada job figures also due on the same day.
Europe
The European Central Bank’s meeting and press conference today dominates the economics calendar. Again, no change is expected from the ECB on deposit or lending rates. Mario Draghi’s press conference will no doubt dwell on the state of the Eurozone economy, particularly as the final reading of Q4 GDP growth has been revised down to 1.1% year on year.
UK and Eurozone benchmarks were off less than 1% on the day. Shares in insurer Aviva (AV) slid after annual results were released as it warned of muted growth this year amid Brexit uncertainty.
Asia
China’s CSI 300 closed 1% lower on the day after a softer close on Wall Street, although the Shanghai Composite Index showed more resilience on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite has been on a strong run in the last few weeks and has consolidated its position above 3,000 points this week.
Japan and Hong Kong indices were lower on the day.